Runners The Walking Dead
by xStreetx
Summary: When a private school in Atlanta comes under attack, a boy from New York City must rush to find his family. But instead, he finds another group of survivors. Can he convince them that he is not a danger to them?
1. Chapter 1: The Meaning of Life

Runners [The Walking Dead]

Chapter One: The Meaning of Life

Ace Henry punched the numbers into the phone with a quick purpose. He shook his dreadlocks away from his ear and brought the phone up so he could hear. Not even a dial tone. His parents had left days ago. They should have been back by now. But he could not even get his phone to work, let alone enough service to call them.

He tossed the phone onto the couch and called for his mother's assistant. The small and mousey woman bustled into the room, carrying a large bundle of papers. "Have you heard from them?" He asked. The woman shook her head.

"I can't reach your mother. Have you tried your brothers?"

"I can never reach Chuck, Iraq tends to do that to phones."

"How about Harry?"

"No. Even if he didn't ignore my calls, I still wouldn't be able to reach him."

"So… What are you thinking about doing?" She turned to look at him knowingly over her thick glasses.

"What… What do you mean?" Ace asked, holding his breath from hope and suspicion.

"Well… You are eighteen… I can't stop you legally from doing anything." Was all she said.

"You're the best Mrs. Collins. I'll… Let you go home early, yeah?"

"Most welcomed, Mr. Henry." She winked and Mrs. Collins exited the room. Ace headed for his closet and pulled down an old bag of Chuck's. It was military in style and color and could fit a lot. Ace packed it full of clothes enough for the journey, along with his car and wall charger for his phone, iPad and laptop. He packed a small cooler full of drinks and food and then selected a set of keys from the ample selection in the apartment.

The elevator, like all other electric run things, was not running, so Ace started the long walk down the thirty something sets of stairs that made up the infrastructure of his apartment building. He headed into the basement, noticing the freakish absence of staff. The apartment doubled as a swank hotel, and Ace's family rented the penthouse suite. It was only fitting seeing as they owned the building as well as the block.

He punched the unlock button on the keys and the car's horn honked, reverberating in the concrete space. Ace threw his bag into the back seat of the car and then climbed in himself. He started it and revved the engine, before peeling out of the parking garage. He climbed a short incline and emerged onto the New York street. He turned into traffic like a race car driver and opened the GPS unit on the car. No connection to the satellites. Of course.

Ace was extremely glad the map he needed was already downloaded. His parents used it frequently enough. He punched in the address, selected the map he wanted, and started it up. He didn't need the annoying lady to tell him when to turn. He just needed a map to get him there in a reasonable amount of time.

He did this all while driving, barely glancing at the GPS as he pounded away on the touch screen. Ace was very capable of managing the technologies his family had always seemed to own. He was heading for Atlanta. The Amsley Academy for Gifted Students had been the illustrious private school to receive Charles Bay-Henry's one hundred grand a year tuition for his two youngest children, Louis and Felicity. Ace had been dumped at a Brooklyn school for troubled youth. Just because he wore dreads and facial piercings he was considered troubled by his parents and the psychologists they paid.

When everything had gone down, his parents immediately took off to go rescue their precious babies. They just up and left Ace to deal with things alone. Not even a note or message from his mother's assistant. Harry and Chuck probably got full length reports about every minute of the journey. Ace pressed down on the gas and blew through a red light in the deserted street, which he found odd.

He wondered where everyone had gone to.


	2. Chapter 2: School's Out Forever

Runners [The Walking Dead]

Chapter Two: School's Out Forever

Ace had seen his first walker the day after it happened. He had been out, trying to get to his best friend's apartment two blocks from his own. The thing had stumbled out of the alley between two buildings, not even three buildings from his own. It lurched forward; swaying its arm like it could no longer move them. One leg dragged slightly behind. Its business suit was clean other than the blood and guts spilling over the collar. Its throat had been ripped out by something.

Ace had recoiled in a sudden manner that tweaked his left knee. Its eyes were a pale yellow that looked like a rotting bruise in its face. It made an inhuman noise, more like a gurgle because of the lack of vocal cords. Ace knew that if the blood had not been dried, it would have bubbled in its throat.

He did not make it further. Ace turned and repeating the move he had perfected when dealing with the common junkies in Brooklyn, hunched his shoulders, shoved his hands in his pocket, and walked quickly away. He did not venture out after that. The building was well stocked, so he just took what he wanted. Not like anyone would say no to him anyway.

Ace cornered a turn like a madman when he spotted a blockage a block ahead that was made up of cars. He ran into a walker that was making a slow and painful process across the street. Gore splattered his windshield. Ace cursed and turned on the mister and wiped as much away as he could. He never slowed. He turned on the cruise control and settled into his seat for a long ride.

He headed toward New Jersey, and once through Jersey City it was almost a straight shot to Atlanta. Fifteen hours with no long breaks. He pushed on the gas and spurted ahead, breaking almost ninety as he headed down the freeway. He wanted music, but knew the radio would not work so he didn't even try. And he didn't want to waste battery life on his gadgets, so he hummed to himself as he went.

Hours passed like minutes. It always seemed that way when you were going somewhere you didn't want to. He did not want to reach the school and his family. He was just doing it because, well, he could. As he headed further into the country and away from the city, he started to notice signs of life. He saw signs on the side of the road, declaring so and so had gone here, this place was not safe, safe haven was x miles ahead.

Ace ignored them and drove on. He was hitting one hundred at some points, but slowed as he neared Appalachia. As he drove through Harrisburg, he saw only walkers. Ace blew through without giving them a second thought.

In between Hagerstown and Martinsburg, he took a wrong turn somewhere. The GPS had frizzled out and Ace ended up on a deserted dirt road that led into the woods. He slowed as the potholes became more dangerous and Ace began to suspect that something was wrong. There were no signs to the next town, just more woods and less road. And it was getting darker. Ace cursed and began to look for somewhere to turn around; he flicked his high beams on.

A man stood in the middle of the road in front of him. A shotgun was aimed at the car. Ace slammed on the break and slid to a stop just a few feet from the guy. Ace rolled down the window and said, "Are you crazy? Standing in the middle of the road at night!"

"Get out." The man replied. Ace was about to ask why when a pair of hands nearly dragged him through the window. The last thing he saw was the butt of a gun falling toward his face.


End file.
